Bosom Buddies
Family Place ready to launch breastfeeding support program
Jessica Cormier knows the struggle of breastfeeding. Twice she tried and failed. “I always wanted to breastfeed, always. I was devastated when it didn’t work out,” said Cormier, who tried nursing her first child, Regan. “There were medical issues.” When Quinn came along, she tried again.
“He was tongue-tied, which is so difficult and it wasn’t caught until later. He wasn’t latching right and I really didn’t know why, so I was in a lot of pain,” added the mom. “I just gave up. I didn’t have anyone there to say ‘You can do this’.” And, twice, she’s had success. “With Jaxen, I had a friend who was breastfeeding at the same time,” Cormier said, adding support was key. “I would call her up in the middle of the night and say, ‘I am so tired, I don’t want to do this’. She got me through it.” Now, Cormier is nursing her fourth child, six-month-old Avelyn, with ease and wants to help other mothers like her who need support and have questions. She is one of a handful of Summerside area mothers who are Bosom Buddies.
“I really credit the fact that I was able to breastfeed my third and fourth with the fact I had someone I could call and say, ‘Help me through this.’”
Bosom Buddies, an initiative of Family Place in Summerside, is a mom-to-mom telephone support line that matches trained support moms with breastfeeding mothers. “There are more moms initiating breastfeeding, but it doesn’t work for everyone,” said Family Place’s Lori Clark. “I don’t think everyone realizes how hard those first few weeks are.
Sometimes you are dealing with postpartum depression and you are dealing with pressures from family and lack of support.” Clark nursed her middle child, now 23, and her youngest, now 17, at a time when breastfeeding wasn’t the norm and rarely encouraged.
“I didn’t know if I could do it. I just hung in there. I don’t know why, but I think I just took a stubborn spell,” added Clark. “I was so determined to do it.” Family Place was involved in similar program years ago, but “It kind of fizzled.” Clark, who leads Family Place’s Rock and Talk program, said, “We have apps on our phones and we can dig out books and give out handouts but it is not the same as getting some help from a real, live person.” The support moms, under the guidance of lactation consultant Carrie Chappell, learned strategies for listening and provided personal background to help better match those in need with a mom who can help. “It is open to anybody. New moms will be told about this in the hospital,” said Clark. “They can come through here or they can go through Carrie. It doesn’t matter where the referral comes from, they’ll be matched with a mother who has taken the training.” Cormier hopes her experience can help another mom get to the point where they are breastfeeding with ease.